 |
| Korean Air Chairman Cho Yang-ho |
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport is expected to grant a new license on the Incheon-Mongolia air route this month, and Asiana Airlines, Jeju Air, T'way Air and Eastar Jet are vying to win it.
The route has been monopolized by Korean Air for nearly 30 years due to the two countries' 1991 aeronautical agreement allowing only one carrier from each country to provide air travel service. From Mongolia, MIAT Mongolian Airlines is operating flights to Incheon.
Due to their monopolization, criticisms have been raised that ticket prices were too expensive compared to other routes with similar flight hours, and the number of available seats was insufficient.
As the two countries renewed their agreement last month, this inconvenience will likely be addressed, according to the ministry. For Korea, two carriers can operate up to nine flights or 2,500 seats a week, up approximately 50 percent from the current six flights a week with 1,656 seats.
"This will not strip Korean Air of its status as the route's operator," a ministry official said. "It will open an additional slot to other carriers, meaning Korean Air will maintain its flights."
However, industry officials said the additional slot will affect Korean Air's ticket prices, given it will no longer be the sole operator.
"Because of Korean Air's monopoly and limited seats, the ticket prices oftentimes soared over 1 million won ($890) in holiday seasons, double the price of tickets to other cities taking about four hours," an official at an LCC said. "When additional slots are open, the ticket price will go down and more travelers will be catered for."
To earn scores in the ministry's review for a new carrier, Jeju Air and Eastar Jet have been operating chartered planes between the two cities, following the footsteps of Air Busan, which is running a route linking Busan and Ulaanbaatar after its track record of operating chartered planes was recognized in a ministry review.
"We have operated two chartered flights linking Incheon and Ulaanbaatar last year, and 14 chartered flights linking Cheongju and the Mongolian capital," an Eastar Jet official said. "We believe demand was high then because of the high price of existing flights to the city."
Asiana Airlines is also pitching that a full service carrier is suitable for the slot, because large aircraft are needed to cover increased numbers in just three flights.
Carriers are vying for the license because the route is lucrative. According to the ministry, 330,000 traveled between Incheon and Ulaanbaatar last year and the number has been increasing an average 11 percent every year, as Mongolia is emerging as a new tourist attraction.
"Also, given the Mongolian aviation market's size, it seems very difficult to explore another route linking the country," another official at a domestic carrier said. "For carriers, it will be a rare chance to expand their business."
Source:www.koreatimes.co.k
0 comments:
Post a Comment